adding more closet storage

Here's a quick and minor update that has me dancing in my pants:

All the closets in the house are your standard bar and one shelf.  It works, but either leaves a bunch of un-used space at the top OR a circus-car-packed-with-clowns effect when cram in as much as you can...

So, we built a second shelf.  More organized & more storage!  This is really quite simple: curt & screw to wall the 1x3 frame, and then cut shelf to size & voila!  Add some paint, if you like things pretty... but ONLY if you like. 

1x3 frame installed & painted

was also painting the shelf... both dry & both go up!

immediately jam with junk... TA DA!

Word to the wise: remove closet doors before embarking on this journey. 

xmas 2011: ho ho ho

I don't think you're ready for this jelly.....but get ready, cuz here it comes.

We decorated for Christmas.  Which, I never used to be crazy for... UNTIL the beau came along and UNTIL I was slapped in the face with so much internet-blogland inspiration.  And let me tell you, I am loving what we got going on!  Now, there is more I would love to do, but budget, time, and space to store the other 11 months of the year is keeping me under control.

First, I put out some Silver & Gold (by ways of my spray-painted pine cones featured before.)

just like the clay snowman sang about

Second, I filled 3 vases with silver ornaments and silver Mardi Gras beads.

glam BAM!

I LOVE these.  I would love to make some fake presents (in shiny red wrapping) and place around the base of the vases and under some vases to give more dramatic height.  But I couldn't justify this when I had no room to store these empty boxes in the off season.  Next house, for sure.

Third, we got a tree.  A fake tree.  A fake, white tree.  Oh you better believe we got funky up in here!

won't you take me to FUNKY CHRISTMAS TOWN?! 

Yup, sparkly white tree + all red ornaments = the hotness.  I am in love.  The reason why we have a pint-size ghost tree is because Xmas will be hosted by another, and we didn't want a real tree to die while we were away, and we wanted to enjoy the holiday cheer.... so, obviously, this was the only logical answer.  Please tell me you love it and want to be like me.  Or, you know, lie.

Fourth, the peace wreath from last year (seen/done here)?  It's inside.  MADNESS, I KNOW!  But we needed to balance out an empty space & add some height so onto the wall it went (hung with a 3M removable hook.)  

kum-bay-yah, yo

I figure, this is a more stylized wreath that could rep the hippy indoors and match the circular plate on the other wall.  Oh!  And we did think about mounting the wreath ON the gold plate, but it didn't look as good as we thought it would.

Fifth, the bar got blinged. 

erm, the garland is level... the angle is just, um, messin with the view

That's a basic lit garland draped along the frame (with 3M hooks,) and strings of beads (usually for the tree) hung through the glass racks.  It took a bit of finagling to get the beads to stay and more to get them the right lengths.... I scrapped having them all the same length because that would talk TOO LONG.  Look at it all lit up!  I love how the garland really frames the bar.

Sixth, the table.

The bowl is Ikea.  The filler is, yup, more beads.  The napkin rings?  BEADS AGAIN!  (Bet you didn't see that one coming!)  And that lovely, delicate table runner was a gift from a very close family friend.

beads, beads... GLORIOUS BEADS!!!!!

adding some quaint to the otherwise glitz-fest

I have also, when we were using the chargers but not the fancy-pants napkins (I use those only for foreign dignitaries,) I put them all in the center bowl.  I kinda like this too... like a pick-your-poison of, um, hand towels.  Whatever.

So, there you go!  This is how we deck our halls and bring out the figgy pudding.  What did you do?  Anyone hate a non-green tree??

(See Link Parties page for list of who I've linked too)

library turned man-cave

Yes, you read that title correctly: this is a library that was turned into a man-cave... I dont know who won in this situation, but Im pretty sure I know who lost.  The brain.  The brain lost.

Lets start at the beginning, shall we?

BEFORE (kinda)

I forgot my camera the first day, so these pictures are after we took off the door to the storage under the stairs and cleaned that out, removed the drop ceiling, and...

...removed the kitchenette!  Yup, there was a kitchenette on the first floor with a fridge, stove and sink (the house had been split into two separate living places, one that was rented out.)  And, I was lucky enough that the fridge came with an old rotten egg, too.  Special for me.

So, to recap: fridge, sink, stove, tile back-splash, crappy & damaged drywall, ugly flooring, door-less storage, and a collection of un-speakable treasures found abandoned by the previous owners.

DURING:

For more than the first year, this room was pretty much my storage/ staging area.  As you can see, we installed the same floor here as in the rest of the first floor.  There was damage to the bottom of the drywall, (some water, and a lot of wear & tear that would make installing molding impossible.)  So, we replaced the bottom foot of drywall, and the full kitchenette-wall.

inconsistently-spaced studs are fun

pretty patched drywall

So, as originally stated, I was going to make this room something of a library.  My aunt & uncle gave me their old bookcases/ entertainment center, which was going to house my millions and millions of awesome books that I magically would acquire.  I am not completely positive if these guys will keep their current wood tone (or even keep as wood,) or what to do with the blue basket weave, but that is a post for another day.

As you can see, I also painted the room (in the same color as the aquarium room.)  I also added a kick-a$$ rug and re-stained a $5 coffee table:

pretty flowers and yay for yard-sales!

see more about this staining project here

AFTER/ CURRENT

So, still kinda a library?  A library of movies??  Does that count?  When the beau moved in, he brought his personal Blockbuster with him, (AND we need MORE room for them!!  They overflow-eth!)  I believe the beau was scheming about this room from the moment he saw it: small window makes the room dark, perfect for a theater room! narrow with "built-in" nook for the tv, perfect for a theater room! good arrangement for surround sound.... perfect for a theater room!  Sooo, instead of a quiet reading nook, it's a loud tv room.  

With a million video games....

It sounds like World War III has erupted in my house.

I think by "theater" room, he really meant "gaming" room... I'm onto him and his dastardly ways!*  There's pretty much no escaping it, other than the carpet and the wall color, this room is a 100%-approved Man-Cave.

*It is pretty sweet, and I do love this little nook..... but for the sake of hilarity, let's pretend I am a woman wronged, k?  A "Gender-Neutral Cave" just doesn't have the same ring to it!

As you can see, this room still needs a TON of work: there's no floor molding, the "window" is still a vent leftover from the kitchenette, the old college-futon sticks out like a sore thumb, and the storage underneath the stairs is still without a door!  I'm sure there are tons* more things to do in here,** but it's exhausting (depressing?) to think about.... so let's just make believe there are only 4 things I need to do here, k?

Fun thoughts: that orange & aqua ikat pillow (from World Market & it so awesome?) is the "inspiration"/ "guiding light" for the room.  We have our minds set on a neutral tan-ish small sofa/love-seat to replace the futon.  As you can see, there are already orange pillows & throws in there, and the rug pulls together the dark brown, tan and the light sagey-blue-gray-whatever-it-is-wall-color.  I think just by replacing the seating, this room would "work" 10 million billion times better.....  Oh, and we also want to find some kind of closed-storage end table for the corner with the lamp and table trays.

What do you think?  Can you see it?  Maybe?  Kinda?  ...not at all???

*Like fix the wiring for the chandelier....

**And hanging more art-work we have stashed away.  The beau brought his classic horror movie posters, which I will mix with my classic old hollywood posters, someday.

living room update (it's about time!)

It's been long enough without an update on the living room. So, let's get this party-train started:

BEFORE

This pic is from the house listing.  I dont know if you can really tell, but the walls were an attempt at beige, which went horribly greenish.  Anyways, other than the MISSING QUARTER-ROUND MOLDING and a bit of grime on the floor, this room was probably the best in shape on move-in day.

DURING

I thought orange would be a good accent color for these rooms...

I thought wrong.  The orange wasn't enough contrast, and in the end everything felt very orangey-brown.  And not, well, "me."

I have since embraced my love of yellow, and there is no stopping me now!  I particularly love the peacock/marine blue and yellow combination (and have an entire pinterest board devoted to it!*)  Why do you care?  Well, to be honest, you probably don't.  But for the purpose of this post, you DO care because that's the direction my living room is going!




*I will follow you, if you follow me....




AFTER/NOW

VOILA!  Much more cheerful and it makes me happy.  

Much happier.  

For more on that kick-a$$ bar, check out this post.

If that picture looks like everything is kinda off-center and misaligned, then I apologize.  It's not.  I think this is totally a perspective thing; I don't line up my furniture on a diagonal!

Now for a few details, close-ups, and things-I-love:

(Yes, this is a pic from the orange days.  And I have no idea why there's a palate in my dining room...)

This beauty was from HomeGoods for about $25.  I KNOW!  There's a piece missing?  Though I can't find where that missing piece is... but, for that price, I'm not gonna object!

We got this table and chair set (from here, only we paid $299.99... dunno what that crazy price hike is about!)  The thought process behind this was to add more seating, especially with a Superbowl party nearing, and to give us another place to eat.  Both of which, I am loving!  I also enjoy how it doubles as a (better) place to put drinks- much more easy to reach than the coffee table/ottoman!  I love the lines, both straight and semi-circles.  The cushions are quite comfortable and, best of all, it's a Transformers-table!  Check it out:

That's right, it expands!  There are legs for the other side that unfold, too.  I just didn't have the room to display that at this time.  I'm super happy with the fact that this table can grow with us or be used in different ways in houses down the line.

These pillows were an Xmas present from the beau.  He saw me go crazy for them while watching an episode of ColorSplash, and he thought to go online to their website & found out where they got them!  Awesome, right?  Then, the poor guy had to play defense when we went to a ZGallerie store to make sure I didn't buy them myself or, banish the thought, see something else I liked more!  His surprise was safe, and I was so delighted to unwrap them!

On that note, he also got me these bookends:

THE BEST!  They're really really well done.  (For those that don't know, we are a greyhound household.)  

I saw this beauty at ZGallerie on sale for $16, and I HAD to have him.  Had to.  And that little blue-bird is a good-luck thing; my mom always kept a figurine in the house.

I found this little vase at HomeGoods for $12.  I love it.  I love how it reads green in some light and teal in others.  And, it is the perfect way to bring the colors of the pillows to other areas of the room.

These two candle holders were a host gift that I think work perfectly.  I like that added bit of quirkiness the frog & lizard add.  The blue coasters are also great, though I think I may look to get two more to make a set of four.

Ok, one more look at the whole thing... this time with a lazy dog sneaking into the frame:

entry way add-ons

I did a quick little thing to the entryway dresser, and I am really liking the results!  For bearings, when you enter the house, theres a bureau right next to the door, along with a stone-filled boot tray.*  This is where we end up throwing our gloves, sunglasses, and dog leash.... and it always ends up looking a mess.  So, time to fix it!

First, TO THE SPRAY PAINT:

I have no idea where I got this basket, but how retro is that?!?!?!

Took a good number of coats to get in every crack and crevice... but it was spray painting!  So the more coats, the more fun!!

Finished result:

You actually saw this in the Xmas recap.

Perfect for hiding things, like store membership cards or extra dog-walk-bags

Then I saw this awesome idea from House Bella:

LOVE it!  I do like the House Bella galvanized pail (which reminds me of how they display sunglasses in a Fossil store,) but this is a case of workin with whatcha got.  I have two other matching bins of different, nesting sizes, which I hope to put to good use somewhere nearby.  But, in the meantime, this new place to store the leash, totally out of the way!  And neither the sunglasses nor the leash are makin my house look cluttered anymore.**  FOR THE WIN!!! 

I do think the top (dare I say, tablescape?!) needs a tall and medium item or two (listen to Mrs. Bower, she knows.)   

*Awww!  One of my first posts!!    

**I totally believe in that old school saying: a place for everything, and everything in it's place.  It's easier to keep your house clean and orderly that way.... I do not care if I sound like a Grandma.  Shut up.

this is the bar that jack built, ya'll

[or, how to create a bar from a closet]

Baby, it's cold outside...  And I don't want to leave the house to go out.  Logical decision: build a bar.  Obvious, right?

TA DA!!!  So, we decided to tackle this RIGHT before Thanksgiving... RIGHT before family was coming to stay for the weekend...

genius.

Anyways, this was previously a closet.  Now, this is a bit of a controversial move: in a house that has almost no storage space, why would you get rid of a closet?!  Well, I'll tell you why- because I said so.  There.  So here's how you convert a closet into a (dry) bar:

First step is removing the doors, shelf, hanging bar, and anything else left on the wall.  Then we removed the inside molding.  When you do this, you are left with a gap between the existing drywall and the end stud.  We filled this with GreatStuff, (an expanding insulation foam.)  Once this has hardened and set, we sawed off any excess and spackled over.

 the beau sawing off extra GreatStuff*

After a fresh coat of paint (we painted this the same color as the rest of the living room to really make it part of the room - I forget who makes this paint, but I remember it being called Trench-coat,) we were ready to get crackin!  And apparently, crackin means SHOPPING!!

We lucked out that Ikea has a mirror that fit our design to within half an inch or so??  Perfect!  No glass cutting or special orders!

We also decided to go with a short Gorm shelving unit from Ikea, which fit perfectly AGAIN!  Double awesome.

See how well that mirror fit?  After a trip (or seven) to Home Depot, we got started: we mounted the mirror to measure off of, and installed the support strips.  These will hold the counter and the top shelf.

Here is the puppy sawing some lumber.  Poor pooch never gets a day off!

The counter-top, shelf and molding were bought from Home Depot.  After these were cut to size, they were stained along with the Gorm shelves.  The stain was picked to match the existing furniture in our living room.**  After stain, we poly-urethaned the hell out of everything!  Everything got at least two coats of poly, but the counter-top has four.

Meanwhile, we were also assembling the light box/liquor shelf... yup, like they have in real bars!  The plastic was a cut-to-size order from an online store, which was adhered to the top of a wooden box that was painted black.  Inside the box is a fluorescent light- we installed a new outlet in the old closet by running electrical from the bordering bedroom (where there was an existing outlet right behind the wall,) and installed a light switch and second outlet into the light box, (the second outlet is for blenders, etc.)  One thing to remember when doing this is to drill a hole in the box and the counter-top in the same spot to feed the cord through to the wall outlet.

So, installation!  The first thing to go up was the top shelf.  This was a bit difficult and aggravating, as it is tough to keep the shelf flush with the support beam.  We chose to put the support strips above the shelf because it is prettier that way!

 
The hardware to hang the glasses was purchased online.  We went with a piece of wood that's usually used for stairs, as it has a curved outside edge.  Works fine for a shelf, too!

After the shelf was hung, everything else went fairly quickly- the counter was screwed in, the molding was installed, and the light box was hooked-up.

Here's the molding around the mirror back-splash.  I believe this is technically crown/ceiling molding?  It really finished off the look and hides that extra half-inch gap between the mirror and the wall.

There is also molding on the lip of the counter...

and around the edges of the counter where it met the wall!  Man, look at that corner!!  And that's with just using a manual miter box.***

Now, as for the Gorm shelves- Ikea makes wine/bottle shelves for Gorm, but not for all shelf sizes.  And we happened to get the size that doesn't have the pre-made bottle shelves.  Because that makes life easier.  Anyways, all that needs to be done for a bottle shelf is to install thin 1x1 strips onto the shelves, spaced to accommodate whatever bottles you plan to store there.

We also hooked up a mini-fridge with a basket on top to hide any of the many things that need hiding when you have a bar.

 I think that pretty much sums it up... time for glamor shots!!

this pic was taken pre-bottle & glass stocking

Now, the only problem with having a bar, is you HAVE to stock it....

So whats the internet verdict??  We are beyond thrilled with the outcome and love-love-LOVE showing it off and using it for chic cocktails!  We think it really finishes the room off, and definitely looks better than a boring closet.  And, icing on the cake?  We got this sucker finished, installed, and everything cleaned up all before our guests arrived!!



*You know, that stuff??  It really is great...
**Ugh, it is such a pain in the butt to match a new stain to an old piece of furniture?  It is stupid tough.  So my advice to you would be, if you are staining an item and have any smidgen of a notion that you may want to sometime in the future get another piece to go with that set?  Buy enough stain for the whole dreamed-up project.
***OMG We totally got a fancy-pants miter saw with a LASER for xmas!  IT IS THE BEST EVER!  Molding, get ready to meet your maker!